GRAND NATIONAL winner Party Politics, who in 1992 became the biggest horse ever to win the race,has been put down at the age of 25 due to the infirmities of old age.
Party Politics beat Romany King by two and a half lengths just five days before John Major's General Election success and also finished second to Royal Athlete in 1995. Many would argue he was denied the chance of a second victory when in the form of his life and going strongly during the infamous void race of 1993.
Ridden to victory in 1992 by Carl Llewellyn and trained in Lambourn by Nick Gaselee, Party Politics was owned by Patricia Thompson, whose Cheveley Park Stud at Newmarket has been his home since retirement in April 1996. Party Politics was purchased by David Minton for Thompson from owner-breeder David Stoddart three days before his Grand National victory.
Thompson said: "We are very sad to lose Party Politics; he would not have enjoyed such a long and happy retirement without the TLC he received from the team at Cheveley Park Stud.
"We willalways remember the excitement of Grand National Day in 1992 - and indeed his very creditable second in 1995 - as one of the major experiences of our racing ownership."
Minton and Llewellyn were also quick to pay tribute to PartyPolitics.
Minton said: "[He was] a gentle giant of a horse who loved Aintree, where he never ran a bad race - one of the fairytale Grand National's winning in the year of the General Election."
Llewellyn added: "He was a fantastic jumper of the National fences, and gave me one of the best days of my life. It was a real shame that he never got the chance to win back to back Grand Nationals, as he was going significantly better at the Chair in the 1993‘void' National than when he won it in 1992."
Cheveley Park Stud managing director Chris Richardson said: "He enjoyed a happy retirement at Cheveley Park Stud for 13 years, during which time he made a number of public appearances, the last being prior to the 2008 Grand National."
He was one of the reasons I fell in love with the sport.... must have been my first ever winner when he won the National. Can still remember being in the back of my dad's car, aged 9, listening to the race on the radio and the whole car going barmy when he won. RIP old boy.
Was around at my best mate's place and his mum knew my dad liked a bet so she went through the Sun and picked out this guy at random, we said don't back it, cos there had just been a general election, so she picked another...thankfully she decided to give me money to back both otherwise I hate to think what would have happened.
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